Track weathering
Track weathering
Hi need some advice when I come to weather my track so they look rusty along the sides is this best done after ballasting or before also I will be using a tiny paint brush as I don't use air brushes can you recommended what rust coloured paint to buy as I would presume it needs to be acrylic.
- luckymucklebackit
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Re: Track weathering
There must be as many variations to weathering track as there are modelers, I have used various methods but for my current layout I used a brown acrylic. Beware of paints that are described as "track colour brown" as in my experience they tend to be too light. The "Works" shop sells big tubes of an Acrylic brown for a couple of pounds. it is sometimes better to paint before laying but beware of the joints, these need to be kept clear of paint or else you will have conductivity issues when you put on the rail joiners.
Jim
Jim
This Signature Left Intentionally Blank, but since I have written this and I intended to do it, this Signature is intentionally not blank. Paradox or What?
My layout - Gateside and Northbridge
My layout - Gateside and Northbridge
- End2end
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Re: Track weathering
I use cheap acrylics mostly but my for my rails I used Railmatch "sleeper grime" applied with a tiny paintbrush.
Although not your colour I did find it a good paint.
Heres a list of the paints but from expensive Gaugemaster.
http://www.gaugemaster.com/search_results.asp
http://www.gaugemaster.com/search_resul ... rentpage=2
Hope it helps.
Thanks
End2end
Although not your colour I did find it a good paint.
Heres a list of the paints but from expensive Gaugemaster.
http://www.gaugemaster.com/search_results.asp
http://www.gaugemaster.com/search_resul ... rentpage=2
Hope it helps.
Thanks
End2end
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Re: Track weathering
Thanks for the advice I thought I would ask on the forum as there are nations of videos on track weathering.
- TimberSurf
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Re: Track weathering
I have made a start at attempting this and experimented with an airbrush and enamel, as I have 100's of meters to do!
But I have come to one conclusion, looking at real railways, it depends on the type of track! Main lines tend to get replaced regularly, so not enough years to go rusty and dribble onto the ballast and sleepers (that also get replaced), but branch lines, depots and little used sidings will not be maintained so well, thus will be in place longer and have the time to go really rusty and taint the ballast. So I will probably spray lightly on the main and have an overwash on the little used.
But I have come to one conclusion, looking at real railways, it depends on the type of track! Main lines tend to get replaced regularly, so not enough years to go rusty and dribble onto the ballast and sleepers (that also get replaced), but branch lines, depots and little used sidings will not be maintained so well, thus will be in place longer and have the time to go really rusty and taint the ballast. So I will probably spray lightly on the main and have an overwash on the little used.
Re: Track weathering
Also depends on the time of day, lighting, whether it's raining or dry....
Personally I just spray the lot with the dark brown rail colour... I don't like the look of track that has been sprayed with the lighter browns though...
So much depends on where you are modelling as well, it's like all the different colours of ballast...
Choose your location and check photos of that area...
Personally I just spray the lot with the dark brown rail colour... I don't like the look of track that has been sprayed with the lighter browns though...
So much depends on where you are modelling as well, it's like all the different colours of ballast...
Choose your location and check photos of that area...
Re: Track weathering
Thanks TimberSurf and b308 for replying to my question its going to be a shunting layout and based around the late BR 0.6.0 417 steam loco so I would imagine the gravel areas will be quite dirty.
Re: Track weathering
Probably ash or compressed earth if it's an old siding. Newly ballasted sidings were a bit of a rarity in those days except for a new business...
- Bufferstop
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Re: Track weathering
A bit of a variation on method here. Rust coloured rails are new ones seen either on special rail carrying wagons or lying in the middle of the track awaiting the track gang. Old running rails are covered in rust plus oil and grease, brake shoe dust and much to the disgrace of everyone involved in this century, permitted effluent discharge. As a result rail sides are a dark brown colour the tops are either bright silver or rust speckled silver. I go with painting them by brush before laying, with acrylic paint. you'll need to touch in the odd spot once laid. It's remarkable difficult to rub off from the sides especially once the track is laid so don't paint the contacting surfaces in the points unless you have fully modified the wiring and linked blades to stock rails. If you need to clean a spot on the side of the rail for soldering there's a special tool, it's a cocktail stick with one end shaped and sharpened into a chisel point. If you do have to solder a wire to the side of the rail, a spot of the rail muck colour you have used will make it very hard to spot.
The rails in your MPD, unless the builders have just left, are likely to be very different, only the railhead being visible, everything else will have disappeared in a layer of ash, coaldust or oil and water.
The rails in your MPD, unless the builders have just left, are likely to be very different, only the railhead being visible, everything else will have disappeared in a layer of ash, coaldust or oil and water.
Growing old, can't avoid it. Growing up, forget it!
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My Layout, My Workbench Blog and My Opinions
Re: Track weathering
...unless, like me, you have a movement disorder. Then it will look like a cupola wagon has spilled its load.Bufferstop wrote: If you do have to solder a wire to the side of the rail, a spot of the rail muck colour you have used will make it very hard to spot.
- Bufferstop
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Re: Track weathering
I've produced a few like that myself. When I was at the PO training school, they had us practising soldering cable ends onto the terminal blocks that were used for jumper cable wiring in the exchanges. You could use a big fat iron without any risk of overheating and the biggest problem was to get enough solder into the joint. Converting to thin wire on PCB pads and code 75 rail was a bit of a culture shock.
Growing old, can't avoid it. Growing up, forget it!
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- luckymucklebackit
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Re: Track weathering
What power rating is your soldering iron? Current thinking is that a 60kW iron is the best to use, as it transmits heat to the rail quicker and therefore the solder flows quicker, which I would hope would help you, many people by a cheap low power iron that takes forever to heat the wire and rail.Kindling wrote:...unless, like me, you have a movement disorder. Then it will look like a cupola wagon has spilled its load.Bufferstop wrote: If you do have to solder a wire to the side of the rail, a spot of the rail muck colour you have used will make it very hard to spot.
Jim
This Signature Left Intentionally Blank, but since I have written this and I intended to do it, this Signature is intentionally not blank. Paradox or What?
My layout - Gateside and Northbridge
My layout - Gateside and Northbridge
- Bufferstop
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- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 12:06 pm
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Re: Track weathering
The irons used in the telephone exchanges were 50volt and haven knows what wattage, they took an age to heat up, which wasn't a problem as they were permanently left on, ( totally against the rules) only being disconnected for the time it took to transfer from one 50V socket to another. They would go on soldering for at least 5 minutes when disconnected. Very useful if you needed to rewire the socket it was plugged into.
Growing old, can't avoid it. Growing up, forget it!
My Layout, My Workbench Blog and My Opinions
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- TimberSurf
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Re: Track weathering
Luckymucklebackit, I think you mean 60W!
The GPO ones sound like the big black handled ones about a foot long that were 250W
The GPO ones sound like the big black handled ones about a foot long that were 250W
- luckymucklebackit
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Re: Track weathering
Ooops, sorry that was a typo, 60W is what I meantTimberSurf wrote:Luckymucklebackit, I think you mean 60W!
The GPO ones sound like the big black handled ones about a foot long that were 250W
Jim
This Signature Left Intentionally Blank, but since I have written this and I intended to do it, this Signature is intentionally not blank. Paradox or What?
My layout - Gateside and Northbridge
My layout - Gateside and Northbridge